But there's no denying that a strong rivalry is emerging
between the Bruins' pesky forward and Smith, who drew attention around the
hockey world after challenging the 6-foot-9 Chara to a fight in Game 2 of the
teams' Stanley Cup playoff series.

Marchand is the Bruins chief agitator – heck, he's one of
the best at what he does in the entire NHL – and he's found himself matched up
against Smith during much of the series with the Red Wings.

Their most memorable moment to date came in the second
period of Boston's 3-0 win in Game 3, when Smith and Marchand had a leg-to-leg collision. Marchand
went down like the proverbial ton of bricks and Smith was hit with a tripping
minor.

There was only one problem – when Marchand got up, he was
favoring his right leg as he left the ice but it was his left leg that made
contact with Smith.

"I saw a picture of where he went down,"
Smith said with a laugh. "He's very slippery. You got to make sure you get all
body. He slipped out of my check, good play by him. It was funny when he was
putting all his weight on the leg that got hit. It's interesting when I saw the
picture.

"That's Marchand. He's going to try to
create some stuff, that's the kind of player he is and he's kind of lived off
that for a long time. That's why he's great. It's kind of funny when you get
caught like that and you go down on your left leg and you got your right leg
up.

"That's how he is. That's how he plays.
It's worked for him."

Marchand, who claimed he hurt his right
leg when he landed awkwardly on it, makes no apologies for doing whatever it
takes to help his team win.

He's tried to tone down his antics this
season to avoid too many trips to the penalty box.

"A little bit but it's more from getting yelled at all the
time," Marchand joked in reference to coach Claude Julien. "But definitely. In
time, you realize when you can do it and when you can't. I'm trying to cut out
stuff I don't need to do. Like starting a lot of scrums after the whistle and
stuff like that.

"I've cut down on that and hopefully the refs will see that
and give me a bit of a break."

Now that the playoffs are here, however, all bets are off.

Smith, among other Red Wings, is discovering that with each
game.

"In playoffs, it's so emotional and the tension's really
high and guys are laying everything on the line," Marchand said. "Things get
chippy and guys are playing aggressively and it just comes out in playoffs a
little more when you know what's on the line and what you're expected to do."

Although Smith has been perhaps Marchand's biggest adversary
in the series with the Red Wings, both players admitted it's nothing personal.

There's a mutual respect on each side.

That said, Marchand claims that Reilly Smith – Brendan's
younger brother who plays for the Bruins – told him Brendan isn't a fan.

"I don't know him," Brendan Smith said. "I don't like some
of the cheap shots here and there. In that sense, I don't like how he plays.
Other than that, I don't really know him so I can't comment.

"For me, I just keep playing. I'm hoping the refs will start
seeing a little more but it's playoff hockey. That's what goes on."

Marchand's response?

"We've been playing against each other a lot," Marchand
said. "He's a physical guy. Whenever he can take a run at me he's taken a run
at me and I'm going to do the same to him. In a series like this, you want to
try and wear each other down. Whenever he gets a chance to hit me he's going to
do it.

"We're just trying to help our team win and that's all it
is."

Despite his reputation, Marchand isn't the top villain of the
series as far as Red Wings' fans are concerned.

Lucic has a simple explanation for why his sidekick is so
effective at getting under the opposition's skin.

"It's because he's an effective
player," Lucic said. "If you want to take a run at him or something like that,
he's a hard guy to get back at and I think that's what gets under guys' skin.
He's definitely not afraid to get into the verbal battles as well.